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Bug Squad

Bug Squad blog image depicts a honey bee sting in action.

Welcome to the Bug Squad blog! The Bug Squad blog was launched Aug. 6, 2008 and is a daily blog (Monday through Friday). It showcases entomologists and the work they do.  The blog focuses on scientists in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, the UC Davis Bee Haven, and assorted campuswide events, including UC Davis Picnic Day, UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, and Bohart Museum open houses. The blog spotlights insects, including bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and praying mantises, as well as arachnids such as jumping spiders and crab spiders. Author and photographer is Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and a longtime journalist and community scientist with two degrees from Washington State University.  She is a member of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) and the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE). Her blog posts and images have won international awards from ACE and ESA and appeared on journal and magazine covers. She shoots primarily with a Nikon Z-8 mirrorless camera, a Nikon D500 and Nikon 800, with assorted macro lenses. 

Back in 2012, beekeeper Mikayla Hagan of the Rio Vista 4-H Club talked about her beekeeping project with then Mike Reagan, member of the Solano County Board of Supervisors. She won a showmanship award at the Solano County 4-H Project Skills Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee-ing All You Can Bee: From a 4-H Beekeeper to Ag Major

May 31, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
We remember photographing a young beekeeper, Mikayla Hagan of the Rio Vista (Calif.) 4-H Club, when she delivered presentations at Solano County 4-H events. Yes, 4-H'ers can enroll in beekeeping projects--if a club offers them. And they should! Rewind to the 2012 Solano County Project Skills Day.
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A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on Anchusa azurea at Annie's Annuals and Perennials, Richmond. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What a Load on This Bumble Bee!

May 29, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was billed as the second annual Butterfly Summit, hosted last Saturday by Annie's Annuals and Perennials in Richmond. But a yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on Anchusa azurea (a member of the borage family), apparently didn't like the focus on butterflies.
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A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenkii, nectaring on Anchusa azurea, of the borage family. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why Timing Is Everything in Bumble Bee Colonies

May 28, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Timing is everything. Especially when it comes to bumble bee colonies. Postdoctoral scholar Rosemary Malfi of the Neal Williams lab, University of California, Davis, will speak on Timing Is Everything: Bumble Bee Colony Performance in Response to Seasonal Variation in Resources at 4:10 p.m.
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A honey bee heads for a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, a biennual. This image was taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tower of Jewels: Aptly Named

May 25, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Let's hear it for the tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii. Native to the island of Tenerife and belonging to the family Boraginaceae, it can tower as high as a 10-foot Christmas tree. It's a biennial, meaning that it takes two growing seasons to complete its life cycle.
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